County school system avoids job cuts

Grim financial outlook for next fiscal year could lead to layoffs

By Jamon SmithStaff Writer

Published: Wednesday, September 1, 2010 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 at 8:23 p.m.

The Tuscaloosa County Board of Education has approved a $167 million budget for fiscal year 2011 that does not call for job cuts in the school system, but forecasts a grim financial outlook for the 2012 fiscal year.

'There's a lot of positives in the budget because the county board made a commitment to protect classroom instruction, and that's critical,' said David Patrick, principal of Northside High School.

'But the upcoming budget is going to be very difficult,' he continued. 'I fear that we're going to lose teachers. That'll severely affect instruction. You just can't replace that. The budget in 2012 has a very, very bleak outlook right now if something doesn't change.'

Because of proration — budget cuts in the Alabama Education Trust Fund made during the recession — in the past two school years, the county system has lost $16.7 million in funding that Tuscaloosa County Schools Chief Financial Officer Patrick Conner said the system will never recover.

Superintendent Frank Costanzo has said repeatedly that administrators and the board have done all they can to make sure teachers are not laid off during the budget crisis.

But the financial outlook means jobs are likely to be lost, Conner said.

'A good many people who are funded with ARRA (Amer

ican Recovery and Reinvestment Act) money will be retained, but not all of them,' Conner

said.

'If we're talking about cutting certified people, we have to tell them by the end of their contract, which is the end of school,' he said. 'For the classified people it depends.'

Certified personnel refers to teachers. Classified personnel are support staff.

In 2009, Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act at the urging of President Barack Obama to help alleviate the nation's economic crisis.

In the Tuscaloosa County School System, the act provided a $6.75 million buffer against the impact of proration. The money was used to help save 153 jobs that might otherwise have been terminated in a system with 1,267 employees.

Those funds, however, won't be available in fiscal year 2012. Unless some other funding source appears, some job cuts will have to be made.

'You can't do that with the employees because we're at bare minimum right now,' said Sheila Hocutt-Remington, an economics teacher at Brookwood High School and president of the Tuscaloosa County Education Association.

'But because of this we're going to lose employees, both certified and classified,' she said. 'I'm concerned about this year and next year.'

Besides losing employees, Conner said the system could also possibly be taken over by the Alabama Department of Education if its financial situation gets out of hand.

'We need to have some plan to replace that (AARA) funding,' Conner said. 'We're paying $6.75 million out of salaries that will go away.'

'Our plan is we're going to take local dollars, $4.2 million out of the local dollars and the remaining $2 million we're going to have to figure out how to reduce that in our expenses,' he said.

'It could include reducing staff, and it will, but we just don't know who. If we don't take action when we lose the ARRA funding, the state could take over. But I don't think they're going to come and do that because we've been handling things responsibly.'

<p>The Tuscaloosa County Board of Education has approved a $167 million budget for fiscal year 2011 that does not call for job cuts in the school system, but forecasts a grim financial outlook for the 2012 fiscal year.</p><p>'There's a lot of positives in the budget because the county board made a commitment to protect classroom instruction, and that's critical,' said David Patrick, principal of Northside High School.</p><p>'But the upcoming budget is going to be very difficult,' he continued. 'I fear that we're going to lose teachers. That'll severely affect instruction. You just can't replace that. The budget in 2012 has a very, very bleak outlook right now if something doesn't change.'</p><p>Because of proration — budget cuts in the Alabama Education Trust Fund made during the recession — in the past two school years, the county system has lost $16.7 million in funding that Tuscaloosa County Schools Chief Financial Officer Patrick Conner said the system will never recover.</p><p>Superintendent Frank Costanzo has said repeatedly that administrators and the board have done all they can to make sure teachers are not laid off during the budget crisis.</p><p>But the financial outlook means jobs are likely to be lost, Conner said.</p><p>'A good many people who are funded with ARRA (Amer</p><p>ican Recovery and Reinvestment Act) money will be retained, but not all of them,' Conner</p><p>said. </p><p>'If we're talking about cutting certified people, we have to tell them by the end of their contract, which is the end of school,' he said. 'For the classified people it depends.'</p><p>Certified personnel refers to teachers. Classified personnel are support staff.</p><p>In 2009, Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act at the urging of President Barack Obama to help alleviate the nation's economic crisis.</p><p>In the Tuscaloosa County School System, the act provided a $6.75 million buffer against the impact of proration. The money was used to help save 153 jobs that might otherwise have been terminated in a system with 1,267 employees.</p><p>Those funds, however, won't be available in fiscal year 2012. Unless some other funding source appears, some job cuts will have to be made.</p><p>'You can't do that with the employees because we're at bare minimum right now,' said Sheila Hocutt-Remington, an economics teacher at Brookwood High School and president of the Tuscaloosa County Education Association. </p><p>'But because of this we're going to lose employees, both certified and classified,' she said. 'I'm concerned about this year and next year.'</p><p>Besides losing employees, Conner said the system could also possibly be taken over by the Alabama Department of Education if its financial situation gets out of hand.</p><p>'We need to have some plan to replace that (AARA) funding,' Conner said. 'We're paying $6.75 million out of salaries that will go away.'</p><p>'Our plan is we're going to take local dollars, $4.2 million out of the local dollars and the remaining $2 million we're going to have to figure out how to reduce that in our expenses,' he said. </p><p>'It could include reducing staff, and it will, but we just don't know who. If we don't take action when we lose the ARRA funding, the state could take over. But I don't think they're going to come and do that because we've been handling things responsibly.'</p><p>The fiscal 2011 year ends on Sept. 30, 2011.</p><p></p><p>Reach Jamon Smith at jamon.smith@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0204.</p>